International Women's Health & Human Rights

This course provides an overview of women's health and human rights, beginning in infancy and childhood, then moving through adolescence, reproductive years and aging. We consider economic, social, political and human rights factors, and the challenges women face in maintaining health and managing their lives in the face of societal pressures and obstacles.

We focus on critical issues, namely those that may mean life or death to a woman, depending on whether she can exercise her human rights. These critical issues include: being born female and discrimination; poverty; unequal access to education, food, paid work and health care; and various forms of violence. Topics discussed include son preference, education, HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, violence in the home and in war and refugee circumstances, women's work, sex trafficking, and aging.

Our MOOC will have a special focus on creating an international network of engaged students. We will ask students to take part in interactive discussions and cooperative exercises and to share their own experiences. We also ask students to engage with the communities they live in, in order to deepen their understanding of the issues and tie academic ideas to real-life circumstances.

To find out more details about this course and its principles, please visit our Project Page at www.internationalwomenshealth.org

Course Staff

Anne Firth Murray

Anne Firth Murray, a New Zealander, was educated at the University of California and New York University in economics, political science and public administration, with a focus on international health policy and women's reproductive health.

For the past twenty-five years, Anne has worked in the field of philanthropy, serving as a consultant to many foundations. From 1978-1987, she directed the environment and international population programs at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation in California. She is the Founding President of The Global Fund for Women, which aims to seed, strengthen, and link groups committed to women's well-being and human rights. In 2005, Anne was nominated along with a thousand activist women for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Anne is a Consulting Professor in Human Biology at Stanford University, where she teaches on women's health, human rights and love as a force for social justice. She is the author of the books Paradigm Found: Leading and Managing for Positive Change and From Outrage to Courage: The Unjust and Unhealthy Situation of Women in Poorer Countries and What They Are Doing About It, on international women's health.

Kevin Hsu

Kevin runs a design studio, Skyship Educational Design, developing open online courses (MOOCs) and deploying digital tools in the classroom. He is dedicated to crafting new experiences for students and helped launch one of Stanford's first social science MOOCs for a global audience, featuring Professor Larry Diamond on the topic of Democratic Development. He also teaches for the Program on Urban Studies at Stanford University.